Houston doctor suing Chase bank for denying service: 'They didn't respect my credentials'

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A Houston doctor is suing JPMorgan Chase Bank at First Colony Branch in Sugar Land after she says she was discriminated against and denied service because of the color of her skin.

Dr. Malika Mitchell-Stewart said she had just finished her residency. On Dec. 18, 2021, she went to Chase's First Colony Bank to open an account and deposit a $16,000 check from her new job at Valley Oaks Medical Group.

According to the lawsuit, staff members at the bank asked peculiar questions about the validity of her check and her employment as a doctor.

"As soon as Dr. Mitchell-Stewart showed employees at First Colony Branch her Check, they immediately treated her like a criminal," the suit states.

Mitchell-Stewart said bank employees denied her services and said the check was fraudulent.

"It was an unfortunate situation. They took my special moment away. I felt like a criminal. I've never done anything wrong," said Mitchell-Stewart."In order to get Texas medical license or a medical license at all, you have to have a clean record. You have to go to school for so many years, and they just didn't care. They didn't respect that. They didn't respect my credentials."

"Dr. Mitchell-Stewart showed proof of identification. She showed proof that she was a doctor by presenting a business card. She even called employees from her medical group to confirm who she was," added her attorney, Justin Moore.

When ABC13 reached out to Chase Bank officials regarding the incident, they sent the following statement:

"We take this matter very seriously, and are investigating the situation. We have reached out to Dr. Mitchell-Stewart to better understand what happened and apologize for her experience."

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